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The Hobbit Now Turning Into A Trilogy

I recently shared that I am now re-reading The Hobbit, all in preparation for the release of part one of the film in December (see the trailer here). It’s been 10 years since I read the book, which was also my first time to read through the series. I’m only two chapters in, but it has been nice to re-join the story.

…after weeks of intensive talks with Warner Bros., New Line, and MGM over how exactly that [a trilogy] might be achieved, Jackson announced on his Facebook page that he is, in fact, going to turn The Hobbit into a trilogy.

Currently reading the book, it does seem like it would be a challenge to turn The Hobbit, all by itself, into a three-part movie. Such is comprehensible with The Lord of the Rings (and we could even see 4, 5 or 6 movies with that). But The Hobbit?

So, how could it all happen?

The article continues:

How exactly The Hobbit will be turned into a three-film series is still somewhat unclear, though. As Jackson has acknowledged, The Hobbit is a slender story compared with the far more sprawling and complex Lord of the Rings trilogy. But the director is drawing not only on the original book, but also on more than a hundred pages of appendices Tolkien later wrote that expanded on the world of The Hobbit. Jackson is obviously confident that all of this material taken together can sustain three films and hinted in his announcement at what narrative elements will be incorporated to fill out the trilogy.

“We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance,” he wrote. “The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth.”

Well, there you have it. Three releases over the next three Decembers.

Perhaps it’s a money-milking machine…or perhaps this will be a great story-telling project via film. Or both. But I’m sure I’ll join in the story of the trilogy.